German-Built Turntable Offers Supreme Ease and Flexibility: Dr. Feickert Woodpecker Includes Kuzma Stogi S 12 VTA Tonearm, Proprietary Software-Controlled Motor, More

Even if you never play a record on the Dr. Feickert Woodpecker belt-drive turntable, you might be tempted to get one if only to display it in your living room. Pictures cannot possibly do justice to just how gorgeous, elegant, and classy the German-engineered and -manufactured deck – appointed with brushed aluminum top and bottom plates, and a tempered-MDF main body with wood side panels – looks. Certain to be a conversation piece no matter where it's located, and supplied with a Kuzma Stogi S 12 VTA tonearm, Woodpecker also happens to reproduce the information, details, dynamics, and tones embedded in vinyl grooves with uncanny accuracy, depth, presence, and liveliness.

Devised to offer a combination of supreme ease of use and flexibility – no easy task – Woodpecker beckons both the analog lover who seeks set-it-and-forget-it operation as well as listeners who want to experiment with different tonearms, now or later. Bolstered by a quick-release sliding armboard system that permits hassle-free swap-outs of practically any tonearm measuring between nine and 12 inches, Woodpecker provides equally simple everyday operation by way of one-touch speed selection located directly on the plinth. Affording 33, 45, and 78RPM options, it takes precision a step further by also including "plus" and "minus" buttons in the event you want to incrementally adjust the speed.

Indeed, every part and parcel of Woodpecker reflects a total commitment to engrossing music reproduction. A proprietary software-controlled DC motor, 13.2-pound High Inertia Delrin platter with eight MS58 brass inserts for exacting balance and added mass, and inverted stainless-steel bearing – itself with spiral grooves to pump oil and an oil-release grub screw for enhanced motor/bearing interaction – help account for wondrous smoothness, effortless balance, and truly breathtaking stability. Albums you've heard hundreds of times will boast newfound degrees of openness, clarity, drive, and pacing.

Factor in aesthetics, craftsmanship, and functionality that go beyond any reasonable expectation, as well as a two-year warranty on the chassis and electronics (and five-year warranty on platter bearings), plus a complimentary Feickert Next Generation Universal Protractor ($250 value), and Woodpecker serves as a statement turntable that hits all the right notes for all kinds of listeners. 100% Music Direct Guaranteed.

"Bass lines are delivered in remarkably coherent fashion and can always be picked out even in the densest mixes. In fact, everything can be picked out; there is a clarity to the sound, a lack of exaggeration that reveals oodles of detail, but doesn't get in the way of the music. All too often turntables that are revealing and clean can also sound clinical and heartless, but this one allows the quality of the format to shine through."
– Jason Kennedy, Tech Radar, five-star review

"I'm not going get into the build quality (stunning) and all the amazing analog tech they've also jammed into this ‘table (Inertia platter), but I will say, that from the first moment I heard the needle hit the groove I was impressed."
– Rafe Arnott, Part-Time Audiophile

Kuzma Stogi S 12 VTA Tonearm

The Kuzma Stogi S 12 VTA is a 12-inch unipivot bearing design with a unique, rigid, square solid-aluminum headshell and solid brass base that controls all vibration and facilitates stability. Featuring one uninterrupted piece of wire stretching from the head shell to connectors, every part of S 12 VTA arrives machined from solid metal in order to provide superb damping and minimize resonance. The polished pivot point is situated in an oil well, supplying extremely low friction and bearing vibration. The bearing height sits at record level for optimum tracking while the silicone damping controls cartridge resonance and offers stability in azimuth direction. Two counterweights allow easy adjustments of tracking force and azimuth. Fine azimuth adjustment is achieved by rotation of a horizontal screw in the main counterweight, which does not affect other tonearm parameters.